RESEARCH PROPOSAL PRESENTATIO N

GROUP 3 ARBAATUN PUTRI N. DEWI NATALIA IRWAN BADRUL J. SITI MARYAM

Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations Writing the Proposal Sections in a Proposal We need to consider the topics that will go into a proposal. The topics need to be interrelated and provide a cohesive picture of the entire project. The topics will differ depending on the research methods. There are central arguments that frame any proposal. They are introduced as nine arguments by Maxwell (2005): 1) What do readers need, to be better understand your topic? 2) What do readers know little about in terms of your topics? 3) What do you propose to study? 4) What is the setting and who are the people that you will study? 5) What do you plan to use to provide data? 6) How will you analyze data? 7) How will you validate your findings? 8) What ethical issues will your study present? 9) What do preliminary results show about the practicability and value of the proposed study? The nine arguments above constitute the foundation of good research and also provide the overall structure for a proposal. Format for a Qualitative Proposal Two models can be used as format for qualitative proposal: a constructivist/interpretivist format and advocacy/participatory format. 1) A Qualitative Constructivist/Interpretivist Format Introduction Statement of the problem (including existing literature about the problem and significance of the study) Purpose of the study and how study will be delimited The research questions Procedures Philosophical assumptions Qualitative research strategy Role of the researcher

Data collection procedures Strategies for validating findings Proposed narrative structures of the study Anticipated ethical issues Preliminary pilot findings (if available) Expected outcomes Appendixes: Interview questions, observational forms, timeline, and proposed budget 2) A Qualitative Constructivist/Interpretivist Format Introduction Statement of the problem (including the advocacy/participatory issue being addressed, existing literature about the problem and significance of the study) Purpose of the study and delimitations of the study The research questions Procedures Philosophical assumptions of qualitative research Qualitative research strategy Role of the researcher Data collection procedures (including the collaborative approaches used with participants) Data recording procedures Data analysis procedures Strategies for validating findings Narrative structure Anticipated ethical issues Preliminary pilot findings (if available) Expected advocacy/participatory changes Appendixes: Interview questions, observational forms, timeline, and proposed budget Format for a Quantitative Proposal Introduction Statement of the problem (issue, significance of issue) Purpose of the study and delimitations Theoretical perspective Research questions or hypotheses Review of the literature

Methods Type of research design Population, sample, and participants Data collection instruments, variables, and materials Data analysis procedures Anticipated ethical issues in the study Appendixes: Instruments, timeline, and proposed budget Format for a Mixed Methods Proposal Introduction The research problem Past research on the problem Deficiencies in past research and one deficiency related to the need to collect both quantitative and qualitative data The audiences that will profit from the study Purpose Purpose or study aim of the project and reasons for a mixed methods study The research questions and hypotheses (quantitative questions or hypotheses, qualitative questions, mixed method questions) Philosophical assumptions for using mixed methods research Literature review (review quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies) Methods A definition of mixed method research The type of design used and its definition Challenges in using this design and how they will be addressed Examples of use the type of design Reference and inclusion of a visual diagram Quantitative data collection and analysis Mixed methods data analysis procedures Validity approaches in both quantitative and qualitative research Researchers resources and skills Potential ethical issues Timeline for completing the study References and appendixes with instruments, protocols, visuals

Designing the Sections of a Proposal Here are several research tips that I give to students about designing the overall structure of a proposal: Specify the sections early in the design of a proposal. First, develop an outline and then write something for each section rapidly to get ideas down on paper. Then refine the sections as you consider in more detail the information that should go into each one. Find proposal that other students have authored under your adviser and look at them closely. Determine whether your program or institution offers a course on proposal development or some similar topic Sit down with your adviser and go over his or her preferred format for a proposal. Writing Ideas There are key ideas of good writing principles from Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose (Prose, 2006): Writing as Thinking One sign of inexperienced writers is that they prefer to discuss their proposed study rather than write about it. I recommend the following: Early in the process of research, write ideas down rather than talk about them. Before designing a proposal, draft a one-to-two-page overview of your project and have your adviser approve the direction of your proposed study. The draft might contain the essential information: the research problem being addressed, the purpose of the study, the central questions being asked, the source of data, and the significance of the project for different audiences.
Work through several drafts of a proposal rather than trying to polish the first draft. Zinsser

(1983) identified two types of writers: the bricklayer, who makes every paragraph just right before going on to the next paragraph, and the let-it-all-hang-out-on-the-first-draft writer who writes an entire first draft not caring how sloopy it looks or how badly it is written. Most experienced researchers write the first draft carefully but do not work for a polished draft; the polish comes relatively late in the writing process.
Do not edit your proposal at the early-draft stage. Instead, consider Franklins (1986) three-

stage model: 1. First, develop an outline-it could be a sentence or word outline or a visual map. 2. Write out a draft and then shift and sort ideas, moving around entire paragraphs in the manuscript. 3. Finally, edit and polish each sentence. The Habit of Writing Boice (1990, pp. 77-78) offers ideas about establishing good writing habits:

 With the aid of the priority principle, make writing a daily activity, regardless of mood, regardless of readiness to write. If you feel you do not have time for regulating writing, begin by charting your daily activities for a week or two in half-hour blocks. Its likely youll find a time to write. Write while you are fresh. Avoid writing in binges. Write in small, regular amounts. Schedule writing tasks so that you plan to work on specific, manageable units of writing in each session. Keep daily charts. Graph at least three things: (a) time spent writing, (b) page equivalents finished, and (c) percentage of planned task completed. Plan beyond daily goals. Share your writing with supportive, constructive friends until you feel ready to go public. Try to work on two or three writing projects concurrently so that you do not become overloaded with any one project. Carroll (1990) provides examples of exercises to improve a writers control over descriptive and emotive passages: Describe an object by its parts and dimensions, witout first telling the reader its name. Write a conversation between two people on any dramatic or intriguing subject. Write a set of directions for complicated task. Take a subject and write about it three different ways (pp. 113-116) Readability of the Manuscript Before beginning the writing of a proposal, consider how you will enhance the readability of it for other people. The APA (2001) Publication Manual discusses an orderly presentation by showing the relationship between ideas and through the use of transitional words. In addition it is important to use consistent terms, a staging and foreshadowing of ideas and coherence built into the plan. Use consistent terms throughout the proposal. Use the same term each time a variable is mentioned in a quantitative study or a central phenomenon in a qualitative study. Consider how narrative thoughts of different types guide a reader. This concept was advanced by Tarshis (1982), who recommended that writers stage thoughts to guide readers. These were of four types: 1. Umbrella thoughts the general or core ideas one is trying to get across

2. Big thoughts in writing specific ideas or images that fall within the realm of umbrella thoughts and serve to reinforce, clarify, or elaborate upon the umbrella thoughts 3. Little thoughts ideas or images whose chief function is to reinforce big thoughts 4. Attention or interest thoughts ideas whose purposes are to keep the reader on track, organize ideas, and keep an individuals attention
Use coherence to add to the readability of the manuscript. Coherence in writing means that

the ideas tie together and logically flow from one sentence to another and from one paragraph to another. For example, the repetition of the same variable names in the title, the purpose statement, the research questions, and the review of the literature headings in a quantitative project illustrates this thinking.

Ethical Issues in Data Collection As researchers anticipate data collection, we should respect the participants and the sites for research. Do not put participant at risks, and respect vulnerable populations. The researcher develops an informed consent form for participants to sign before they engage in the research. This form acknowledges that participant rights will be protected during data collection. Element of this consent form include the following: o Identification of the researcher o Identification of the sponsoring institution o Indication of how the participants were selected o Identification of the purpose of the research o Identification of the benefits for participating o Identification of the level and type of participant involvement o Notation of risks to the participant

o Guarantee of confidentiality to the participant o Assurance that the participant can withdraw at any time o Provision of names of persons to contact if questions arise One issue to anticipate about confidentiality is that some participants may not want to have their identity remain confidential. However, need to well informed about the possible risks of nonconfidentiality. Other ethical procedure during data collection is getting agreement of individuals in authority to provide access to study participants at research sites. Researcher need to respect research sites so that they are left undisturbed

after a research study In experimental studies, investigators need to collect data so that all

participants, not only all experimental group, benefit from the treatments. An ethical issue arises when there is not reciprocity between the

researcher and the participants. Both researcher and the participants should benefit from the research. Interviewing in qualitative research should consider the condition of the

participants. Researchers also need to anticipate the possibility of harmful, intimate

information being disclosed during the data collection process. The researcher should follow the ethical code for researchers. Ethical issues in data analysis and interpretation How will the study protect the anonymity of individuals, roles, and incidents in the project? Data, once analyzed, need to be kept for a reasonable period of time, (5-

10 years). other. The question of who owns the data once it is collected and analyzed also

can be an issue that splits research teams and divides individuals against each

In the interpretation of data, researchers need to provide an accurate

amount of the information. Ethical issues in writing and disseminating the research Discuss how the research will not use language or words that are biased against persons because of gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic group, disability or age. Other issues in writing the research will involve the potential of

suppressing, falsifying, or inventing findings to meet a researchers or audiences needs. In planning a study, it is important to anticipate the repercussions of

conducting the research on certain audiences and not to misuse the results of the advantage of one group or another. An important issue in writing a scholarly manuscript is to not exploit the

labor of colleagues and to provide authorship to individuals who substantially contribute to publications. study Finally, it is important to release the details of the research with the

study design so that readers can determine for themselves the credibility of the